Shadows in the Night
by SilverMidnight52
Summary: When Neal comes back from work injured he and Mozzie have a conversation that is long overdue.


My love of Neal and Mozzie only grows as I continue to watch the show. They're amazing! There will be many more stories about them I promise you that.

Warnings: I don't think there are any, but tell me if you think there should be some.

If you want to be kept up to date with redos on stories or want to know more about stories that will be started soon or even ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook under SilverMidnight52! I own nothing!

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Climbing out of the cab Neal started towards the front door of June's place slowly. His whole body was in pain and all he wanted to do was take a long hot bath. Hopefully that would help. Though to do so he'd have to be able to stay on his feet for long enough. Something he actually doubted.

It wasn't often that he got really injured while he was working, but things happened. Things happened a lot faster when you went chasing after someone and they ran into the street. Neal was lucky that the car that hit him wasn't going all that fast. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt though.

It took longer than he'd like to admit to open the door and walk inside. His hand ran against the wall ready to catch him if his legs went out from under him. The paramedics had cleared him rather reluctantly, but they had said that he shouldn't be alone for the next few days. Luckily, Peter hadn't heard that.

The truth was that Neal hated hospitals. He did absolutely everything in his power to avoid them. Sometimes that meant lying. It was odd to think that Peter hadn't realized that he was more injured than he was saying. He was actually glad that the agent was a little blind this time.

Now that he was looking up the flight of stairs to his place he wished he had at the very least had some help up. Just was on vacation with her granddaughters and, though she said she didn't have to, she had sent the staff home until she was back. Which wouldn't be for another two months.

A part of him was glad that he had some true alone time. Not that he didn't love June, but he had breakfast and dinner with him. It was always lovely to be around her and he truly did love the time they spent together. She had quickly be come someone that he cared for deeply.

Still he felt as if he had to be Neal Caffrey, gentleman thief. It was ridiculous to think and he knew it. He just couldn't stop himself from acting in front of her. Something that they both knew and something that neither of them talked about. It was just better that way.

Neal shook his head to knock the thoughts away only to be overcome with dizziness. A soft gasp fell from his lips his free hand jutting out to grab at the stairs railing. His eyes clenched shut trying to get a hold of the sick feeling that was threatening to make him spill the food he ate that day.

His whole body was shaking as he got the door open. In all the times he had been hurt he knew that this was one of the worst. Maybe he should have gone to the hospital after all or told someone that he was hurt. It was too late for that though. He was too tired to deal with anything else.

"Finally here, Neal," Mozzie's voice came from the table causing him to close his eyes tightly, "The man seems to… What happened to you?"

"Car," Neal whispered propping himself against the wall.

"A car? Please, tell me you don't mean you got hit by a car?!"

"Mozzie, not now."

The room fell silent and Neal started towards his bed once more. He only got a few steps in before he felt a hand gently rest on the small of his back. Looking over he saw his friend watching him with a blank look. If he had felt better they younger man knew he'd be able to figure out what his friend was thinking but not like this.

Slowly the two men made their way to the bed. Dropping down Neal let out a gasp of pain wanting to curl in a ball. Before he could do that thought he felt strong hands holding him up. Opening his eyes he watched as his friend knelt down and started to until his shoes.

"Moz," Neal tried only for the older man to hold his hand up cutting him off.

"I'm going to ask you one question and I expect you to answer honestly," Mozzie started not looking at Neal, "Should you be in the hospital right now?"

"The paramedic did want me to go there, but he said as long as I had someone to watch me he wouldn't force me."

"And does Suit know how hurt you are?"

"No, he doesn't know I'm hurt at all."

The older man fell silent at his words as he pulled the shoes and socks off and set them aside. Standing up he started ton the ex-cons shirt. A whimper left his throat as the shirt was pulled off. Instantly Mozzie froze before a sigh fell from his lips and he moved to his pants.

After a few minutes Neal was sitting there completely naked while his friend was in the bathroom doing something. Staring at the ground Neal didn't bother looking up as he came back and moved so he was once again kneeling in front of the younger man.

"What are you doing?" Neal questioned when he saw a bowl of water appear by his feet.

"You're covered in dirt and sweat," Mozzie shrugged as he wet a towel and started to wipe his legs down, "And I don't think you can stand up long enough to shower off."

"So you're going to give me a sponge bath?"

"It's not the first time."

A blush came to Neal's cheeks at that gentle reminder. He was right that this wasn't even close to being the first time. It had been a long time since they had done something like that though. Lon before Kate had even been part of his life. He really didn't like thinking about that. It never did end well.

"Moz," Neal muttered licking his lips, "Why… Why did we fall apart?"

"Because you were just a kid," Mozzie answered calmly rewetting the towel, "I decided to give you time to figure out what you wanted. Then you met Kate."

The men fell into silence once more as the older man went back to work. A part of Neal wanted to say something else, but he didn't know what could possibly make the situation better. It was a question that he had been trying to answer ever since the man pulled away from him all those years ago.

There had always been a voice in his head that told him that it had been his fault. That didn't mean that it didn't hurt any less to know the truth. He had fallen for the older man hard, not that that was a surprise to anyone. Neal had a tendency to feel everything so strongly that it could do nothing but fall apart.

Mozzie had finished with his legs and went into the bathroom to get some clean water. It gave the younger man long enough to decide to stand up and attempt to fold the sheets of his bed down. He might still feel disgusting but he didn't think he'd be able to handle his friend touching him anymore.

"Neal, what are you doing?" Mozzie sighed putting the bowl down and moving to the ex-cons side.

"Going to bed," he responded not moving anymore now that the hand was resting on him once more.

"I wasn't done."

"Mozzie..."

"No, you don't want to go to the hospital so now you get to deal with this."

He opened his mouth to argue with his friend but a pointed glare had him sighing and letting himself be pulled to the chairs. Being forced to sit down he sighed again causing the older man to stop and stare down at him. After a moment of the just staring Mozzie fell into the chair next to him.

"I'm sorry, Neal," Mozzie offered his eyes on the table, "I shouldn't have said that."

"It was the truth," Neal shrugged only to wince.

"We shouldn't be having this conversation now."

"If we don't have it now than we never will and you know it. It's been years, Moz. We have to do this."

Dark eyes watched him closely before he finally nodded his head. Taking a deep breath Neal offered him a smile as the man reached for the towel and started to clean his arm off. He never froze around Mozzie.

"I never doubted you loved me," the older man started moving to the other arm, "I just didn't believe you knew what you really wanted."

"But I..."

"You were a kid, Neal."

"I was twenty!"

"You were seventeen. You can lie all you want but we both know that you were a child."

"We also know that age is not the deciding fact or in maturity."

"Maybe not, but you were a child to me."

"What made me a child? Outside of my age."

Putting the towel down Mozzie locked eyes with the ex-con his hand coming up to cup the side of his face. Nuzzling into the warmth the younger man smiled to himself his eyes slipping shut. He really did love that the man always seemed to run a few degrees hotter than him.

"Because you kept going back," Mozzie whispered sadness twinging his voice.

"What?" Neal questioned confused.

"You don't think you actually hid the bruises from me, do you?"

Feeling his face heat up Neal dropped his gaze to his lap. He really ha thought that he had pulled one over on his friend. It wasn't as if he lied tot he man often. It was just one little thing that he had had to do. One thing that he had hoped no one would ever find out about.

"I couldn't just let it go," Neal tried to justify, "She was my mother."

"I know," Mozzie answered lifting the younger man's head so he was looking at him, "I really do understand why you didn't."

"Then why..."

"Every time went to see her you came back covered in bruises, Neal. You looked so broken for weeks after those visits. You flinched if I moved too quickly. Even with all of that you went back time after time. It was like you were waiting for her to magically change. That's why I saw you as a child."

Blinking back tears the ex-con found himself wondering what he was supposed to say to that. He had known that it was stupid to visit his mother, but he had loved her in spite of her flaws. Of course, those flaws usually involved the back of her hand.

It was not one of his favorite things to think about. In fact, he rarely did anymore. He had finally come to terms with the idea that he wasn't at fault for it. He just happened to look enough like his father that he got the brunt of the anger she felt towards the man.

"Wait," Neal pulled away the older man's words sinking in fully, "You said 'saw'. As in past tense? As in not anymore?"

Mozzie sat there in silence for a moment before he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. He pulled away a moment later but it was enough to bring a smile on Neal's lips. It had been so long since he had felt the older man's lips against his own that he had thought he'd forgotten the feeling.

"You've changed your mind since then," Neal stated not even trying to hide how happy he was.

"You've grown up since then," Mozzie retorted a slight smirk on his lips.

Before Neal could say anything else the hands on his chin directed his head to the side as the towel began to gently wipe down his face. The smile never left his lips as the last of the dirt and sweaters cleaned off. Once he was done Mozzie stood up and took the bowl and towel back into the bathroom.

The ex-con's mind was buzzing as he thought about everything that his friend had said. He had long since given up on them ever getting back to what they used to be. It had hurt not being as close as they used to be, but the man hadn't left. He had decided that he wasn't going to lose their friendship even if their relationship ended.

Neal loved that fact about his friend. He was the only person that he never had to question if he was going to be in his life. Even if they fought the man wouldn't leave. At least not for long. That was a trait that both of them had though. Sometimes they just needed to have awhile alone.

In the end they always found a way back to each other. There were points in time where they didn't know where the other was but they still found each other. Though that was mostly because Mozzie had made him memorize all of his safe house and their passwords. There were a lot too.

If there was one thing that the older man was it was protective and extremely good at hiding. Neal had come to learn some of the places had belonged to him since he was a kid. It was not something that Mozzie ever liked talking about. Not that he really liked talking about his childhood at all.

It had taken the man a lot to tell the younger man about himself. Those talks were something that usually only happened when it was late at night and Neal was almost asleep. They never spoke of the things that were shared at night if the sun was up. It was a pretty good system for them.

It was weird to think, but outside of that and them having sex things hadn't actually changed much. To Neal it felt like so much more than just those two simple things. Shouldn't it have been more? Break-ups were supposed to cause them to drift apart and, well, break. Right?

"Mozzie," Neal called his mind working overtime.

"What? The man questioned rushing into the room, "What's going on?"

"You broke up with me."

"Neal."

"You broke up with me and stayed. Why'd you stay?"

A sigh fell from the older man's lips his eyes slipping shut. A wave of fear washed over him at that. He had just gotten the man back the last thing he wanted to do was lose him. The need to feel the other man against him Neal stood up quickly. A little too quickly.

His legs went out from under him as the world darkened around him. Before he went down he heard his friend yell his name. The world came back to him when he felt a hand on his throat trying to take his pulse. Looking up he found his friend watching him with worried eyes.

"I'm okay," Neal attempted his voice sounding rough.

"You passed out," Mozzie glared angrily, "You should be in the hospital."

"The paramedic said that I didn't need to as long as someone was looking for the signs."

"The signs of what?"

"Concussion and internal bleeding?"

The look on Mozzie's face darkened causing Neal to flinch. Shaking his head the older man helped him to his feet and forced him to stand there. Once he was steady on his feet the man started to pat him down seeing if he was hurt worse than before. It took awhile but soon he was nodding his head and stepping back.

"You're an idiot," Mozzie finally spoke sounding calmer than before.

"So you like to remind me," Neal responded offering a small smile, "We both know that I know the signs of both of those pretty well. We've done this before."

"Yes, _we_ have. But you didn't call me this time. I wasn't planning on visiting today. You tried to do this one alone. Why?"

Neal opened his mouth to say what he was thinking only to snap it shut. He wanted to tell his friend what was going on in his head, but staring into those beautiful dark eyes made him free up. He didn't want to see the expression on his face when he told him the truth.

Staring at the ground the ex-con took a deep breath and turned away. He made his way tot he bed and sat down before looking over at his friend. The man looked so confused but he slowly made his way over so he was standing in front of Neal.

Reaching out with steady hands he began to unbutton the man's shirt. Neal found himself licking his lips as his former lovers chest came into view. He always did love being able to simply look at whomever he was with. It was one of his favorite things to do.

"What are you doing?" Mozzie questioned his voice barely over a whisper.

"Shh," Neal shook his head before going back to work and pushing the shirt from his shoulder completely.

Once the shirt was off he moved to bend over and remove the man's shoes only to gasp in pain. Instantly strong hands were holding him so he wouldn't fall. When they were sure he was fine. Mozzie stripped himself of the last of his clothing before sitting next to him on the bed.

"Neal," Mozzie tried to start again.

"Please," Neal pleaded his eyes wide, "Just lay with me."

The older man opened his mouth to argue but instead of saying anything he simply sighed. For a moment he was sure that his friend was going to get up and leave. Then he rested a hand on his shoulder. Hope filled him as the man started to help him lay down fully in the bed before turning the lights out and taking a place behind him.

It took a few minutes before he was able to lay there without something hurting. A smile still played on his lips through it all. He had missed the feeling of someone holding him so much. Not just Mozzie either. He was a person that craved human contact. He always had.

Not wanting to break the spell the ex-con decided not to speak. He knew he would have to at some point, but he wanted to enjoy the feeling for a bit longer. Taking a deep breath he took in everything that was his best friend hoping to memorize it in care this was the last time he was in this position.

"I didn't call you because I know you'd come," Neal finally spoke his eyes staring into the darkness of his apartment.

"What?" Mozzie asked confused, "How does that make sense?"

"I… You left, Moz. Kate's gone and Alex is… Alex. I just… How long can you stay with me before you decide I'm not worth it? Before I'm… Before you..."

A gentle kiss pressed against the side of his head causing him to stop and take a shaky breath. He hated whenever he lost control over his emotions like that. It wasn't who he was and no matter what the reason it always made him feel weak for doing so.

"Neal," Mozzie soothed his hand gently running over the younger man's arm, "You work for the government. I have helped the government. I have let a Suit into one of my safe houses. Do you really think I'm leaving anytime soon?"

"You left me once already."

"No, I gave you time to grow. I never left."

"You never told me that I had grown up though. You just left it with us apart."

"This wasn't something I could push you on. You had to do it yourself. Neal, I do love you. More than I thought I could. I'm not leaving. Okay?"

Nodding his head Neal let his eyes close. He wasn't completely sure that the man wouldn't leave him, but he was here for now. As long as he was in Neal's life than all he could do was hold on as tightly as he could and hope that he didn't fall off.


End file.
